turtle+fish?????

[Aylmer]

hey there,
Was told that a turtle could be kept along with fish. I know that they would eat em if they are small, but my fish are a large red tail catfish and a medium sized flowerhorn in a 4'2'2' tank. The turtles a baby.
Would the waste of the turtle cause any water quality problems for the fish or the other way around.
Pls let me know as if its not possible I would set the turtle free in the river as its not possible to set up a turtle tank as I also have another tank with crayfish which I am breeding.

 

[Lupin]

What species is the turtle? There is a chance your flowerhorn will attack the turtle to death. I don't doubt it considering flowerhorns are very belligerent. Your RTC, on the other hand, will find ways to chomp it depending on the size. I hope you have a large pond in hand considering RTC's will outgrow your tank very soon.

Another thing, I will suggest you return the turtle to the local petstore without credit if you cannot accommodate it. Why did you buy the turtle in the first place without consulting others first? Releasing it in the wild is against the rules and regulations. Review the rules and regulations set by your government and think of the consequences if a captive-bred specimen is released in the wild before you attempt to release it.

 

[Aylmer]

Without beinig sarcastic, I appreciate the loyalty towards rules and reg. However the turtle was not bought, It was given to me by a farmer who caught it. This is INDIA. try explaining Rules and the like to farmers. I just wanted it to not get eaten. I had it in my tank for a while and the flowerhorn is quite friendly with it.So is the catfish.
My only fear is water quality for the fish. If it does effect the fish I would release the turtle in the river where it wouldnt get caught so easily, I hope....
Any way, I respect those who respect wildlife and follow rules, unfortunatly its doesent work with the same ferocity in all countries. so I do my best. take care.

 

[Lupin]

Oops..Sorry for jumping to conclusions that it was bought as we often expect to. When was the turtle caught? Okay, so I assume this turtle is a wild-caught specimen.

 

[Sploke]

Do you know what species the turtle is? Turtles can be kept with fish, but as the turtle gets larger I wouldn't keep it with anything you didn't mind losing. Its a painful experience, keeping a turtle with a nice fish for a few years, and coming home to see the turtle taking bites out of a still-living fish.

As long as your filtration is sufficient, you shouldn't have any water quality issues. Turtles are pretty messy animals bio-load wise, so you might want to think about increasing your water changes, either in volume, frequency or both.

 

[Vicious_Fish]

Keeping fish with turtles is hit or miss. Sometimes you get lucky and sometimes not so much. Most of the time it depends on the species of turtle and the type of fish. Active, predatory turtles such as Softshells and Snappers almost never work with fish. Space is also key as well as having many hiding spots for your fish to hide from the pursuit of a hungry turtle. At the moment I'm keeping a Stinkpot Musk Turtle with a female convict cichlid and a common pleco. They all get along great and my turtle totally ignores both fish. But turtles are messy too so if you do keep them together, plan on doing lots of water changes. I do a 20-50% water change almost everyday in my turtle's rubbermaid tub.

 

[syddakyd]

take a pic of it

 

[moonstream]

if it was caught locally then the kindest thing is release. I know it sounds nice to 'save' a baby, but it causes copious amounts of stress and will often end up with them getting sick. also, many turtle species are heavily protected ad it can be illigal to even touch one!

it sounds harsh, but if this turtle cant make it to adulthood then it shouldnt pass on its genes. animals do fine w/o humans messing with their habitats and trying to save animals that are young because theyre babies, and are all alone. sorry if it sounds like I am attacking/flaming you, but I am very short tempered towards people who mess with wildlife.

 

[syddakyd]

sorry if it sounds like I am attacking/flaming you, but I am very short tempered towards people who mess with wildlife.

glad to see you support fish retailers who only supply captive bred animals

 

[Aylmer]

everyone is justified in their point of view. Agree with moonstream,for any animal who has tasted the wild, captivity is inhuman.Am thinking of releasing it deeper into the santuary.
However for the others who posted, it was light green, had a pointed nose. the shell wasnt hard but on the softer side.
Vicious fish- cute pics